Regional variations in discrete collagen fibre mechanics within intact intervertebral disc resolved using synchrotron computed tomography and digital volume correlation.

ABSTRACT: Many soft tissues, such as the intervertebral disc (IVD), have a hierarchical fibrous composite structure which suffers from regional damage. We hypothesise that these tissue regions have distinct, inherent fibre structure and structural response upon loading. Here we used synchrotron computed tomography (sCT) to resolve collagen fibre bundles (∼5μm width) in 3D throughout an intact native rat lumbar IVD under increasing compressive load. Using intact samples meant that tissue boundaries (such as endplate-disc or nucleus-annulus) and residual strain were preserved; this is vital for characterising both the inherent structure and structural changes upon loading in tissue regions functioning in a near-native environment. Nano-scale displacement measurements along >10,000 individual fibres we

SUBMITTER: Disney CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8904373 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature